~*Kathy*~

I'm not sure how much these guys charge but they look like they do beautiful work! Good luck hun! Jamaica Wedding Photography by Paula and Damian : Photojournalism, Tensing Pen, Montego Bay

Thanks and no problem! It usually took the WC I had about 24 - 48 hours to get back to me but I had a different wc than the one who is there now. I've also heard that they prioritize responses by how close to your wedding date you are. I see yours is in June 2010, so they may take a little bit longer to get back to you right now as they have upcoming brides that they need to deal with first. I hope that makes sense.

Leah - Wow 65 people? I don't know if there's THAT much room around the gazebo hehe but I would definitely ask the wedding coordinator to make sure. If you want to see more pictures of a garden gazebo ceremony, please feel free to browse my pics (links in my siggy). I thought it made for an amazing backdrop!

Danielle - I love that! "Grain of salt and shot of tequila", you are much TOO cute for your own good hehe.

Quote: Originally Posted by LDeeken Hi Girls, Thanks for all the info! I am still new to the forum and its been so helpful! We have been doing alot of shopping around of resorts and still keep coming back to the iberostar! I had a few questions that I was hoping someone would be able to answer for me: 1. How many people can fit around the garden gazebo? The chapel? 2. If we choose to stay in the Lindo or the Maya would we still be allowed to use the gazebo and the tropical restaurant? 3. Are there any other options for a private reception? I thought I saw a photo of a reception held in the breakfast buffet restaurant (la laguna at the Maya I think?) If so what are the costs? Thanks so much!! Also "FutureBotter" this is "FutureLanning" thank for recommeding the site =) Leah Hey and welcome! I hope you stick around the forum to let us know how your planning is going! I was married at the Iberostar Paraiso Beach/Del Mar in February, so I'll try to help you as best as I can. 1. I'm not 100% sure on a specific number, but we had 16 guests and they all fit inside the gazebo, I have seen pictures with chairs outside of the gazebo too, so I'm sure they could accommodate a slightly larger group if necessary. 2. If you stay at the Iberostar Lindo/Maya, you will not have access to the garden gazebo as your ceremony site. It is only accessible to guests of the Beach/Del Mar side, the reason they do this is because each "resort" (each side of the property is considered one resort) only does one wedding per day per resort. If you do have your heart set on a gazebo, there is one in the shopping plaza that Michelle ( beachbride08 ) used for her ceremony and it was lovely. You may want to look in to this. There is also a "gazebo" on the Lindo/Maya side which is a pyramid of sorts above the wave pool, in Michelle's review she stated that she opted not to have her wedding there as the location was in much need of paint touchups/repairs. I do not know the answer to the tropical restaurant question but my guess would be that you would not have access to this either if you were to stay on the Lindo/Maya side. 3. I have read on this thread that some ladies have or are considering the convention centre on the property for a private reception but I myself do not have any insight or information on this. Hope this helps!

Quote: Originally Posted by jax_the_beach_bride That would be nice for sure! We could even get together with kathy/ parisiobride LOL! Anytime I hold a door for someone 80% of the time they won't say thank you! It's way diff out west and I appreciate it when people are curteous and polite. I think that is a huge thing for me and FI has grown up in ON his whole life so I hope I convince him that the west is best! LOL Awwww! That would be so fun girls! I would love an Edmonton BDW get together!! It's funny about the door holding thing, I always say thank you when someone does that for me and I almost always hold doors for other people (if they're behind me or whatever) and there's only the odd person that won't thank me. The nice thing about Edmonton is that you're still in a city but with more of a small-town feel to it. Most people here are very nice/friendly.

Just popping in to say I agree with the girls, do whatever you want and who gives a crap what other people think? I almost wonder if your FI's brother maybe wants to have a guys-only party so that they can get away with shennanigans. If it were me and my DH, I'd be more likely to agree to a co-ed strip club outing. At least then everyone knows exactly what happened and there's no risk of hurt feelings. I know my BIL is the kind of guy that *thinks* in his wee little mind that I keep DH from doing fun things like a bachelor party, but it is my DH that says he doesn't want these things. I hate how he paints me in his mind as his brother's "ball and chain"...what an ass. Anyway, sorry to de-rail/rant, I think that you should do what makes you and FI happy. Good luck hun!

Quote: Originally Posted by CaboBride2010 oh ok wow you are really helping me with this we wouldnt have the money to buy a house nor would be necessarily buy out there, but do you know what the average price is for a decent one bedroom apartment just outside edmonton also what it is like for an apartment in edmonton?? hmmm what else?? lol oh ok my concern is healthcare...in ontario we have amazing healthcare that pretty much covers anything necessary...what is the healthcare in Alberta like?? i think thats it for now..if I think of something I will post but seriously you are already helping me alot with this Just took a quick glance at some apartment listings....seems kind of all over the place but probably depends on how new it is, bedrooms, etc...I'd say anywhere from $700 - $1,200/month. That's why DH and I decided to buy a house 5 years ago...we were paying $1,000/month for rent in (albeit a nice one) townhouse. Now we each pay $1,000/month to cover our mortgage (at 15 years now, woo hoo!) and utilities. I'm not sure about the healthcare, I do know that the provincial government just unveiled the budget and said that they were cutting the chriopractor funding (I don't go to the chiropractor). Other than that, I have no complaints. Emergency room waits can be long but I figure they're probably not any longer than anywhere else in this country. Hope this info helps!

We only pay GST which I think is currently at 5%, so that's nice. I can't imagine we'll ever get slapped with a PST by the provincial government either, it would cause a huge uproar here haha. Houses are still on the expensive side here I think but I can't really comment since we bought our house right before all the prices shot up (we paid just under $200,000). Between my income and DH's income, we live pretty comfortably. Our commute to work (we drive together since our jobs are about one block away from each other) is about 30 minutes or so, and a little bit longer in the winter. Anything else I can attempt to answer for you?

I've lived in Alberta my entire life so I can't comment on Alberta compared to Ontario but I can say it's always nice that there's no PST here and that it boasts the biggest mall in Canada (if not the world, not sure who holds that record right now). What is the cost of living like in Ontario? Is that where you are right now (sorry if this is a dumb question)?

That's just too cute! I voted for ya too!

I am so sorry to hear this is happening to you. *huge hugs*

Stachr - Aww that sucks! Sorry to hear that! Christine - lol! You probably thought we sounded insane for a minute there Jacilynda - Meh, I don't particularly care for metric measurements generally...I wouldn't mind being on the imperial system with the US haha.

Aimee - Gabriela's pretty good at corresponding in a timely manner in my experiences with her, I just wished she was more forthright at our pre-wedding meeting with her at the resort about what we were getting for what we were paying. I hope you find her easy to work with too.

iberostar09 - As far as I know but I was thinking about trying to change some stuff anyway with my "un-apostilled" and un-translated certificate they gave us after the ceremony.

Lisa - haha...maybe! Well I doubt it but ya never know. If I did, then I'm sure glad to be alive still! I never threw up or anything, it was just a really bad cold. My BIL got bronchitis while we were down there lol.

lol Gail, you are too funny! I will definitely keep you and Danielle company in a Mexican jail if I have to. I don't know, I've read on the Mr. Iberostar boards that some girls waited up to six months for their apostille to come in...that is crazy! Sometimes I think I should just go down to city hall here with DH and have another civil ceremony. But then I think, well why the f*** did I pay EXTRA to have a civil ceremony in Mexico if I was going to have another one here at home?

Hey sorry to hear your FI is blowing off yet another anniversary! *hugs* It must be so hard to get some alone time together, especially when you have kids. Hopefully he comes to his senses and makes this up to you big time. I know that a lot of guys don't see the big deal in anniversaries but I know for other girls (myself included), it IS a huge deal and should be commemorated. Feel free to vent all you want, you know we don't mind listening!

Jax - ugh, I'm a city girl at heart even though I grew up on an acreage. I am sooo jealous that you are in very close proximity to awesome shopping haha. Stephanie - lol I'd laugh too if I weren't me! haha It's so crazy that it's hilarious! I shouldn't be shocked though, I still remember when it snowed here in August when I was 8 years old. Man was I pissed off haha.

Amanda - I hear you about the "crappy vacation". Although I had a blast at my wedding and the weather was generally agreeable, I was sick...SICK for the entire second week of my vacation (which was when I should have been relaxing since the first week was a write off because of all the running around before the wedding). I caught the absolute worst, hands down, cold of my life in Mexico...on my vacation. I am still extremely bitter about that (though it was beyond anyone's control I suppose). The fun didn't stop there either, DH got sick a few days after me and then we were both sick for a good 4 weeks after we got home from vacation. It was totally miserable. I was so congested on the plane ride home that my ears wouldn't pop when we were landing, it hurt like a bitch...now I know why kids scream their heads off lol. Regardless, I hear ya sister! *HUGS*

Christy - woo hoo, congrats on the dress! Make sure to post pics so we can all "oooh and ahhh" over it Danielle - aww you're too sweet too! hehe thanks for your offer! It's so frustrating you know? I want my legal paperwork so I can start changing my last name over on stuff and it's kind of hard to do when I don't have an apostille making it "official" here in Canada. Technically I'm not married to my DH in Canada without it, it's starting to tick me off a little lol.

I hear ya Gail, there were a few times in the two weeks before we left that I had sent Gabriela emails and she took quite a while to get back to me and I was starting to panic a bit too. Thanks so much for the offer about the certificate w/apostille, I will definitely take you up on that if I don't have it by the time you leave (which at this point wouldn't shock me lol). You're the sweetest! I can't believe it about this flu either, isn't it mostly affecting the Mexico City area? Why is everyone concerned with the entire country of Mexico? I think if people just travel safe and smart then they'll be fine. I hate the way the media likes to sensationalize these things.

Jax - awww that's so nice! I guess it is more of a small-town mentality out here in the west, which maybe I take for granted haha. I love it here too except for when the crazy-ass weather strikes. Furthest east I've been so far is Thunder Bay I need to travel more haha!

I'm so sorry to hear this is happening to you! *huge hugs* Did some of your family make it down?

Sloan - Okie dokie, how's the housing market down there? hehe Jax - Thanks! Do you have some friends/relatives out here?